Big Bear Park

Equipment by Little Tikes Commercial.

Surface: rubber.

Some parks go by an un-official name; a name that alludes to the most memorable feature in the park, and is catchier than the official designation. Budapest Park often gets called “Dino Park”. My daughter has always referred to St. James Park as “Asparagus Park”. For many households, I’m sure Biidaasige Park is already getting the nickname “Owl Park”.

Big Bear Park scores points for me simply because they had the sense to call it what kids are going to call it anyway: Big Bear Park.

The name comes from the enormous statue – “Seated Bear (Sophia) And Friends” by artist Dean Drever – that looms benevolently over the playground. It is truly big: at almost 10 metres, your kid will be dwarfed as they look up in wonder.

Impressive as the bear is, it’s not part of the play equipment and shouldn’t be climbed. This is understandable of course, but it does bring up a bit of a shortcoming for this lovely new playground: the bear theming begins and ends with the statue. The next-level move with this playground would have been to extend the bear theme into the equipment. The manufacturer of the equipment here even makes something they call a “Black Bear Tunnel Climber” that would have been a nice addition. And of course, if the Science Centre was still down the street, that would also be nice.

But let’s stop focusing on what’s not here, because what is here is pretty good.

Two large towers, connected by a bridge, are the centrepiece. Plenty of good climbing and sliding to be had here, plus some sneaky monkey bars hidden on the underside of the connecting bridge. There’s also a junior climber, a saucer swing, and several nice musical elements.

There’s a good amount of bench seating, although the freshly-planted trees will need a couple of decades before they can provide any reliable shade. But if you're looking to escape the sun, there's an entrance to an excellent stretch of valley trail just west on Eglinton.

After our visit, my overall impression was that Big Bear Park is…quite good, but a few key steps away from excellent. If it had some water play, if it had a sandbox, if it had a bathroom, if it had more complete bear theming…any two of those four things would be a big boost to this playground’s value.

But it’s still good, and a nice addition to the new neighbourhood being built around it. The site was once a huge complex owned by hardware company Celestica, but is being turned into a mix of high rises and townhouses, complete with streets named after Toronto icons: Moriyama Drive, (architect of the Science Centre) Kyle Lowry Road (Raptors), Mike Palmateer Road (Maple Leafs), Steve Podborski Road (skiing).

Surveying these streets from her podium, Sophia the giant bear might be destined to become a neighbourhood icon in her own right.